A disco-era story of happy hucksters and shady pols became an Oscar front-runner Thursday as David O. Russell's "American Hustle" racked up 10 nominations, including ones for best picture, director, screenplay — and in all four acting categories.

"First of all, I want to congratulate all of the nominees from all of the films," Russell said in a statement. "We are all blessed to be in this business, telling stories. In 'American Hustle,' we tried to create characters and a world that the audience would find romantic and moving and real."

Yet it was matched by the stripped-down yet spectacular "Gravity," whose 10 nominations also included best picture and director and — for her nearly one-woman show — Sandra Bullock, for best actress.

"I am particularly moved by Sandy's nomination," "Gravity" director Alfonso Cuaron announced. "She is the heartbeat of our film...I thank her for her grace, her trust and her dedication."

George Clooney and Sandra Bullock in 'Gravity,' just before things start to go seriously wrongWarner Bros.

In addition to "American Hustle" and "Gravity," the elastic best-picture field — expanded to nine this year — also included "Captain Phillips," "Dallas Buyers Club," "Her," "Nebraska," "Philomena," "12 Years a Slave" and "The Wolf of Wall Street."

But the modest "Nebraska" did particularly well, with additional nods for director Alexander Payne and star Bruce Dern, in addition to praise for its screenplay and supporting actress June Squibb.

"Oh, this is beyond sweet," Dern said. "It's Hershey factory sweet! ... I wasn't sure it was going to feel like a big deal. But it is a big deal. And it's because this year people got together and said, 'You know what, that Bruce Dern can play. Let's send him to the All Stars! Let's put his whole team to the playoffs!"

For Bruce Dern, the best actor nomination for 'Nebraska' feels particularly sweetPARAMOUNT

Another welcome surprise? The respect given the thrilling "The Wolf of Wall Street" which won praise for director Martin Scorsese, actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill, and picture and screenplay kudos — despite some early criticism of its raunchy antihero.

"I think it was a controversial movie, it struck a nerve, it polarized the community in a way," agrees producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff. "But that's not always a bad thing... We're dealing with a flawed guy and the movie is a reflection of our times."

LEADING MEN AND LADIES

The nominations were announced starting at 5:30 PST, by actor Chris Hemsworth and the Academy's new president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs — and simultaneously capped a year of great pictures and inaugurated a new cycle of speculations.

Although "American Hustle" and "Gravity" lead in number of nominations, that's not necessarily any sign of a foregone sweep, let alone a predictor of individual categories. (And "12 Years a Slave" wasn't far behind them in honors, with nine nods.)

For example, the very busy best-actor field includes Bale for "Hustle," DiCaprio for "Wolf" and Dern for "Nebraska," but also Chiwetel Ejiofor for "12 Years a Slave" and — long the favorite — Matthew McConaughey for "Dallas Buyers Club."

(Crowded out? Tom Hanks for "Captain Phillips," Robert Redford for "All Is Lost" and Forest Whitaker for "The Butler.")

"`The Wolf of Wall Street' has been a passion project of mine," DiCaprio said in a statement. "I found the role to be one of the most challenging and rewarding of my career."

And the best actress race is particularly crowded this year, with Amy Adams (receiving her fifth Oscar nomination) for "Hustle," Cate Blanchett for "Blue Jasmine," Bullock for "Gravity," Judi Dench for "Philomena" and Meryl Streep getting a record — yes — 18th acting nod for "August: Osage County."

"I am so happy for our film that Julia and I have been nominated," Streep announced. "This honor from the Academy, for which we are truly grateful, will help bring attention to our film from audiences across the country."

A CAST OF CHARACTERS

The nominated supporting actresses were an especially eclectic lot, including Sally Hawkins for "Blue Jasmine," Jennifer Lawrence for "American Hustle," Lupita Nyong'o for "12 Years a Slave," Julia Roberts for "August: Osage County" and June Squibb for "Nebraska."

The 23-year-old Lawrence now becomes the youngest three-time acting nominee (she won best actress last year for another Russell film, "Silver Linings Playbook"). The 84-year-old Squibb, meanwhile, becomes one of the oldest honorees ever.

"The geezers did great today," said Dern, 77. "June is a geezer. I'm a geezer. Judi Dench is a geezer. You know, together the three of this have been around for a quarter of a millennium! Not bad."

The list of nominated supporting actors, meanwhile, comprised newcomer Barkhad Abdi for "Captain Phillips," Bradley Cooper for "American Hustle," Michael Fassbender for "12 Years a Slave," Jonah Hill for "The Wolf of Wall Street" and Jared Leto for "Dallas Buyers Club." Leto remains the front-runner, but Cooper could provide some competition, particularly if "Hustle" starts to build momentum.

Rounding out the major award categories was best director, which found room for Russell for "American Hustle," Cuaron for "Gravity," Payne for "Nebraska," Steve McQueen for "12 Years a Slave," and Scorsese for "Wolf."

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Although this isn't always the most debated contest, this year it may be the most difficult one to predict. Russell was nominated last year for "Silver Linings Playbook" but didn't win; Cuaron's visual and technical achievements in "Gravity" are thrilling. And a McQueen win would not only be worthy, but historic, making him the first black filmmaker to take home best director.

A "truly grateful" McQueen announced "I'm extraordinarily happy for all the cast and crew of our `12 Years a Slave' family. This has been an amazing ride, and to receive nine nominations from the Academy is testament to all of the hard work."

But hard as some of these categories are to call, that's not going to stop the pundits from trying. And bloggers from arguing. And everyone from discussing — until Sunday, March 2, when stars start opening envelopes, and one of the most interesting movie seasons comes to its official, Oscar-night close.